Puppetshow
by Kimblee Whitehead
Summary: Beach City has been taken over by a vengeful gem, and Steven's the only one who can save it. I know what you're thinking, sounds stereotypical, right? Well, there's a twist! This vengeful gem has possessed the other Crystal Gems. If Steven wants to save his city, he has to defeat them first.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

On the edge of Beach City, their lays a temple. You know the one? It's not like their are an abundance of temples with intricate carvings of strange women surrounding the exterior. It's the home of Beach City's very own trio of super heroes: The Crystal Gems.

REQUIREMENTS TO BE A CRYSTAL GEM  
1) Be an alien gem person.  
2) Have a less-then minimum understanding of human culture.  
3) Have a stupid hair cut.  
(List to be updated with further observance)

There are three members of this gem-magic-wonder-group. Garnet, the stoic and mildly (extremely) terrifying leader. Amethyst, the reckless and crude comic relief of the group. And then there's Pearl, the delicate and calculating kill-joy. And with their powers combined, they manage to save humanity from the destructive powers of other gems with minimum casualties. Their hobbies include bickering with each other, squabble with each other, disagree, dispute, quarrel, and at the end of the day, they'll have a nice argument.

They've got a lot of issues. Yet somehow, they still manage to come together and save the day. Barely.

Now, you may be thinking that I may be being too harsh on them. Surely, this description is nothing more then a crude caricature of these great heroes. And you are absolutely right. I've got a bit of a biased opinion against them.

You see, as much as I hate to admit it, the Crystal Gems have bested me more times then I've liked to admit. They may have issues, but they are some of the finest warriors this galaxy has to offer.

But you see, the world is a wonderful place. Anyone can do anything if they try hard enough.

I tried. Oh, I have certainly tried.

And I've had my fun.

Now do you want to hear a story? Do you want that story to be full of epic battles against the forces of chaos? Maybe you want one with devastating betrayals between allies? Or maybe you're like me, and have a vendetta against the gems. You want to hear about their anguish, their suffering, their struggling against a force they just can't seem to beat?

If any of those apply, then this is the story for you.

* * *

_I've had this idea in my head for a while now, so I figure nows as good a time as any to start publishing. The first four chapters of this will probably be published daily, as it's already written. In the meantime, I hope this is enough to hook you._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1**

This story has an unfortunately typical start. It was a sickeningly peaceful day in Beach City. The sun was out, the birds were chirping, and there was a pleasant breeze. The gems were relaxing at their house by the beach. Pearl was cleaning, Amethyst was being lazy, and Garnet was punching rocks, or something. At least, that's what I assume they were doing. I don't really know what their hobbies are, other then feeling a sense of heroic entitlement and beating up other gems.

Then there was the tiny gem, Steven. The little human-gem hybrid was with his little human friend, Connie. They were laughing, playing, and being nauseatingly happy with each other's existence. Puppy love. Quite frankly, I don't know how the other gems could stand it.

As they were playing, the girl's stomach began to growl.

"Oh, sorry," she said, "I must be hungry."

"I'm always hungry!" Steven replied.

That's when they decided to get donuts. They informed the other gems of their plan, and they were off.

Now, this might seem like an insignificant part of the story, but trust me. It's important.

This left the rest of the gems by themselves. They were none the wiser to the fact that I was about to come in, and turn their peaceful little worlds on their heads.

They didn't know that I was a close distance away, too far into my scheme for them to effectively stop it.

It was Pearl who would be the first to notice it. This isn't a surprise, seeing as she's the most observant of the gems. She noticed when she went outside. Although she couldn't sense the exact reason, she knew something was off.

She cautiously poked her head back inside the house.

"Does something seem a little...off to you?" she asked the other two gems. Amethyst and Garnet looked to each other and shrugged.

"Things seem fine to me," Amethyst said, "Come on, P. It's a nice day. Don't be paranoid."

But Garnet didn't say anything. With a more serious expression then usual, she followed Pearl outside. It was quiet. She let out a small grunt.

"Best to be safe," she said. Amethyst sighed, and joined the rest of the team.

And thus, the cavalry was out to get me.

"We'll split up," Garnet commanded, "We'll search, and meet back here in an hour. Got it?"

The team nodded, and went their separate ways.

The Crystal Gems were at a disadvantage in this situation. They didn't quite know what it was they were looking for. The only information they were going off of, was that something wasn't feeling quite _right. _

It would be Pearl who found me. She had a greater perception of the energy I was omitting. I don't know why she could sense it better then her comrades. Perhaps it was her obsessive attention to detail, or maybe it was our...history (though that is a story for another day). Whatever it was, she found me.

I was lurking on one of the bluffs overlooking the city. It was a gorgeous view, I had a clear view at the entire town. On top of that, I was just close enough where my spell could be effectively cast. I sat on the edge, concentrating my energy. Within the hour, Beach City would be _mine._

I suppose an explanation of my plan may help explain what I was doing. You see, I like to think of myself as a scientist. I like to push the limits of what gem magic is capable of doing. This is what got me in trouble with the other Crystal Gems. Rose Quartz often found my experiments cruel. She liked to throw around other words. Savage, barbaric, sadistic. Perhaps her favorite word for it was _unethical. _Our conflict was the simple result of our conflicting principles.

Unfortunately, despite my knowledge, Rose and her team managed to beat me. Multiple times. But like any good scientist, I learned. I became more clever. I made sure I was hidden for every experiment, making myself untraceable. I stayed like this for hundreds of years.

In that time, the things I learned became invaluable. I became stronger. More cunning. More powerful.

But I needed a place to test my power. And so I did what anyone with a score to settle would do. What better way to flaunt my power, then to test it against my old enemies?

Pearl would approach me in my concentration. I wasn't alerted to her presence, until her very audible gasp.

I turned my head to see who had found me. I wasn't expecting to see her, not this early. It took me off guard, but I wasn't about to let her see that.

"Hello, Pearl," I greeted, emphasizing her name. Pearl's feature's flared. She summoned her weapon. She glared at me with pure hatred.

Like I said, there was a colorful history between us.

But that was the end of our conversation. Before I had time to properly react, Pearl raised her lance and charged at me. My eyes widened. I had seconds to react. If I knew Pearl, I knew she didn't aim for injury.

I quickly stood up and summoned my sword. I blocked her hit, and the battle had begun.

We began to exchanged blows, weapon upon weapon, both of us looking for the proper opening. I was getting visibly frustrated. I couldn't let her ruin my plans, this soon.

But as her weapon hit mine, her blows becoming dangerously close to damaging me, and idea struck. If I couldn't best her in combat, perhaps I could simply bend her to my will.

She raised her weapon, preparing another strike. Instead of moving to counter it, I ducked. I planted my sword in the earth, and I began to run away. She stumbled a bit, not expecting her foe to suddenly become a coward.

I ran fast, and I ran hard. As far as she was concerned, I'd given up. How little did she know, my movements were only a distraction. I'll give her credit on one thing, she was quick to chase me. As she chased me, when I felt the moment was right, I covertly snapped my fingers. Pearl didn't notice.

It was then that I pretended to trip. I fell to the ground, and looked behind me. Pearl loomed over me, hatred in her eyes. She raised her lance, ready to impale me.

"Can't we just sit and talk things out?" I asked.

"No," she responded.

"Are you sure?" I asked. She moved for the kill, but was stopped. Something had grabbed her.

While she was chasing me, I was concentrating on the magic in my sword. I was transforming it, into a clone of myself. The battle was now two vs. one.

"What?" She yelled. I pushed myself up, and walked over to her. I took the weapon out of her hands, and threw it on the ground. The clone grabbed her by the shoulders, and pushed her to eh ground.I smiled, and snapped my fingers.

The form of my clone changed again, this time to a rope. It wrapped itself around her wrists. She struggled against it, but it was no use. I laughed, crouching down. I pulled her by the shoulders, and held her up to my level. She looked at me again, but this time, there was no hatred in her eyes. Only fear. She knew what I was capable of, when I had the upper hand.

I debated talking to her. It was tempting to make some small talk, some condescending remark about her situation. However, Pearl was crafty. Doing that led the risk of her escaping, and I couldn't have that.

With my left hand, I grabbed her gently by the neck. Not enough to suffocate her, of course, just enough to show her who was boss. She tried to act brave, but I could feel her shaking. With my other hand, I placed it over her gem.

"What are you..." But her sentence was cut short, as I released my magic into her gem.

She screamed a deafening scream, but it couldn't help her. However, her scream soon ceased, as the process only took a short minute. As it was done, she fell to the ground. I released her, and stood back up. I snapped my fingers, and her bindings disappeared.

"Pearl," I asked. Her eyes opened, and she looked at me. Not with anger of fear, but obedience. She stood up, and bowed to me. I smiled.

I had gained myself a puppet.

* * *

_Thank you SpaceWonder368 and Wasmowin93 for reviewing!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2**

Meanwhile, as my little battle with Pearl went on, the littlest gem and his little friend were at that donut shop, annoying the two human adolescents who worked their.

"So much to choose, so much to choose..." he sighed, looking at all the sugary options. His friend looked around.

"I don't think I'm aloud to eat any of this stuff," She said, because her parents were a bunch of health-nut kill joys, who didn't appreciate the finer things in life. I mean, really. Even I don't eat human food, but I can acknowledge that donuts are delicious. However, that's besides the point.

"How would they know?" Steven asked. And in fact, he was right. It wasn't as if Connie's parents were psychics. How nuts would that be, if humans actually had power. Connie laughed, an affectionate smile creeping across her face.

"Oh, for the love of everything, just _pick something,_" said the silly looking worker with the gaged ear. It was a comment that got him hit by his tiny blond coworker. Everyone laughed.

Steven couldn't have been happier. He had no idea that those he held most dear were in such peril.

However, remember when I defeated Pearl? Remember how I told you she omitted a deafening scream? What I wasn't aware of at the time, was that her scream was so loud and desperate, Steven and his friends heard it.

Steven's face fell.

"What was that?" he asked, desperately looking to the humans in the room. As if they'd know of my triumph. Hearing Pearl's scream would put the group of them on edge. Little did I know, their new sense of dread would throw a large wrench in my plans.

But we'll get back to that later.

Now, I know what you must be thinking. Making people into puppets against their will is cruel. It's a horridly inhumane technique that should never be done. But fear not. I live a life that is not bond by silly things like morals. I live my life free, as life was truly intended to be.

Besides, Pearl would be an excellent puppet to my schemes. While she may have lost her attention to detail, she still kept all those abilities that made her worth something. She was still quick as a whip, a graceful and deadly warrior, and I felt I could truly rely on her.

Of course, gaining Pearl as my puppet wasn't my main intention. There was still a lot to be done for my grand scheme, and there were still problems to be dealt with.

If Pearl had found me, that meant that the other gems weren't far behind. I needed to watch my back.

I looked down at Pearl, who was still bowing obediently. I smiled.

"Keep an eye out for your teammates," I commanded.

Pearl stood up, and bowed her head, "Yes, sir." she said, and went off to complete her task.

I smiled. I was enjoying this.

I went back to the side of my cliff, and continued my task. I closed my eyes, and began to concentrate.

It wasn't long before I was interrupted.

"You!" I heard, a loud voice bellowing from behind me. I turned around, and found the reckless purple gem standing behind me, her weapon raised. I raised my guard. This was a bit of a rude encounter.

She began to charge me. She raised her hand, preparing to strike her whip. I quickly stood on my feet, readying myself for battle. This wasn't supposed to happen. Sure, I was expecting other gems, but Pearl was supposed to warn me. What good was a will-less puppet sentry, if she couldn't warn me of danger?

But my fears were soon cured. Before either of us knew what hit, there was a flash. Pearl appeared out of no-where, tackling her teammate away. The two landed on the ground with a loud _thump. _They rolled, Pearl landing on top of Amethyst. I couldn't help but chuckle at the squeal Amethyst made at her teammate's actions._  
_

"What the actual hell, P?" Amethyst shouted, throwing Pearl off of her. She stood up, and brushed herself up. Pearl followed, and raised her weapon. But she didn't point her lance at me. I saw Amethyst shift uncomfortably, clutching onto her whip.

"...Pearl?" She asked, an air of caution to her voice. I couldn't help myself, I started to laugh. While it was a slightly maniacal laugh, it wasn't an evil laugh. An evil laugh implies that I'm the bad guy.

"What's so funny, Dipface?" Amethyst shouted. I smiled at her.

"Pearl...attack," I commanded.

"Yes sir," Pearl said, nodding her head. She charged her former teammate like cheetah charging a kindergarten full of gazelle.

Their fight was brutal. Pearl attacked Amethyst mercilessly, while Amethyst defended the best she could. The poor purple gem was confused. Even though her teammate was viciously attacking her, she didn't want to hit back. She didn't want to hurt her comrade.

It was her loss, really, as soon enough, Pearl yet again knocked Amethyst to the ground.

"Restrain her, Pearl," I commanded.

"Yes sir," she replied. She held Amethyst down, using all her strength. The purple gem struggled, but it was no use. She was _mine._

I'd go into detail about what happened next, but something tells me you have an idea.

I now had a pearl and an amethyst in my gem collection.

* * *

_Thank you bonehunter6, SpaceWonder368, Guest, Wasmowin93, Marlin, Kitkando, and Cartoon Warrior for reviewing. Sorry I didn't have this up sooner. It was a long day. I was in a car accident. No one was hurt, but it was enough to screw up my week. I didn't get to get any writing in today, and I probably won't write much tomorrow either._

_As such, I didn't want to keep you guys hanging, so I split this chapter in half. The other half is locked and loaded, and ready to be uploaded on Thursday._

_Thanks all!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3**

Back with the mini-gem at the donut shop, he was just as oblivious as ever. He had, however, finally decided what type of donut he wanted. A giant cake donut with chocolate frosting, and fruity-cereal as a topping. Yes, humans have evolved enough to use breakfast food as a donut-topping.

He took a large bite out of his donut, chewing just enough for him to be able to swallow without choking. Barely. His little human friend found it charming.

Once again, he had no idea of my collection.

But the other gem was. When Garnet heard Pearl's scream as she became mind, she became concerned. When she heard Amethyst's scream as she followed in fate, Garnet knew things were going to be very complicated.

She knew there was a danger, but she wasn't sure as to what that danger was. She was at the disadvantage. She clenched her fist. She had two options.

A) She could go and retrieve Steven, get him to safety, while they attempted to covertly figure out just what it was they were dealing with. However, this left the rest of her teammates in peril. By the time she figured out her enemy, it might be too late.

B) She could charge in, and pulverize whatever this thing was into submission.

She stood in her place, thinking it over. Now, Garnet may be a hothead, but to her credit, she was no moron. She knew her teammates were strong. They were perfectly capable of handling themselves. If something had taken both of them off guard, she knew this was no normal enemy. The smartest option would be to retrieve Steven, and temporarily retreat.

However, Garnet is also stupidly loyal to her teammate. For whatever reason, the idea of leaving her teammates behind made her blood boil.

And ultimately, that won over. She rushed into battle with me, trying not to think of the potential consequences.

However, I myself am no moron. I knew that with two gems down, the third wouldn't be far behind. I also knew that, should I let my guard down, the red gem would have my head.

And so I prepared myself a little trap.

It was a relatively simple operation. The key to success lay in the ability of deceit. If Garnet found me, it didn't matter how fast my puppets were, she would pulverize me. No question about it.

I needed something to take her attention from me.

I hid in a tree, as I waited for Garnet to get close. In order for this to be successful my timing had to be perfect. I had to distract her just long enough to keep the element of surprise. Too long, and she would catch onto my plan. If I jump the gun, I won't even have a chance to strike.

I closed my eyes, and waited.

It was thrilling.

Finally, it happened. I could feel her forceful footsteps charging directly towards my location. I smiled. This was gonna be interesting.

I clenched my fists, waiting for her to get close enough. I took a deep breath. It was time.

Just as Garnet's foot hit its mark, I slammed my fist into the tree. That was the signal.

Amethyst jumped out of the bushes, directly into Garnet's path.

"Garnet!" She called out, "You've got to help me. She's gone crazy."

"What?" Garnet asked, raising an eyebrow. I didn't give her enough time to be suspicious, as right then, Pearl jumped out of the bushes. Her spear was drawn and pointed toward the two other gems.

Garnet looked between Amethyst and Pearl, analyzing the situation. I smiled in the background. Perhaps it was too dramatic of a distractions, but what can I say. I'm a sucker for theatrics.

"I heard Pearl scream, and I investigated, and she just attacked me out of nowhere."

"We will defeat you," Pearl said, her voice monotone. Garnet's body tensed at the sentence.

"We?" Garnet scowled, and summoned her gauntlets. She looked between Amethyst and Pearl. She had caught on.

Oh boy.

I felt my heart skip a beat. I could preemptively feel the beating Garnet may have been about to give me.

But I couldn't give up now.

"Amethyst strike!" I yelled from my tree. I had just given away my position. We had to be fast.

Amethyst summoned her weapon, and swung it at Garnet. The red gem dived out of the way, looking towards my tree. Though she couldn't see me, I could see her. I could see the hatred flash in her eyes. She realized it was me.

Before she had a chance to charge me, Pearl blocked her path slashing her spear at the red gem. Garnet dodged and attempted to land a punch. Pearl struck her spear in the ground, and vaulted out of the way, landing behind the red gem. She jumped onto Garnet's back.

Garnet gracefully turned around, preparing another punch, but Amethyst struck her whip at the red gem. It caught her by the wrist. I smiled.

Garnet grappled between her two teammates, attempting to land a punch. But in the chaos, the three fell to the ground.

I took the opportunity. I jumped out from my position, and ran towards Garnet. She was _mine._

I stood above her, as she struggled against her teammates. I looked down, and smiled.

"Hello, Garnet," I said. Garnet's thrashing increased, "Miss me?"

"What did you do to them?" she asked.

"The same thing I'm about to do to you," I replied, a smile on my face. Looking back on the moment, I could have chosen a much better word choice. That just sounded corny. Stereotypical. But man, did it make me seem powerful at the time. Like I said, I'm all about theatrics.

Pearl and Amethyst grabbed her hands, and revealed her gem to me. I prepared my magic.

Garnet was _mine. _

* * *

_Thank you SpaceWonder368, Wasmowin93, bigmike33321, bonehunter6, and Stohne Rohse for reviewing. Sorry about the delays. It was a hectic week. But now it's less hectic. Thanks for sticking through it with me!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4**

The amount of pride I was feeling was out of this world. Here I was, humble old me, able to tame my greatest foe. I now had three of the most efficient weapons the universe had to offer under my disposal. Three weapons who used to give me a butt-woopin on a regular basis, were now my tools for chaos.

I looked over my treasures, all of them standing tall, waiting for me to give them the next order. I could feel them staring at me with empty gazes.

I couldn't help but wonder, was their a piece of them that knew what was going on? Where their independent selves prisoners of their own head, helpless but to watch the havoc about to be placed on Beach City? I certainly hoped so. That would be the icing on the cake!

Of course, I knew there was still a gem missing in my collection. I was missing a Quartz. However, I wasn't particularly keen on retrieving it. I knew that Rose Quartz had long ago passed, and that her power now lay with some snotty nosed kid. It was laughable. I wasn't about to trouble myself to take candy from a baby. I had bigger things in mind.

"Come along, ladies," I commanded, as I gestured them to follow me.

"Yes sir," they all said in unison. I smiled. It was empowering, if not a little bit creepy.

It was time to set my greater plans into motion.

I walked back to the bluff overlooking Beach City. It was such a quant little town. Everything was painted with faded colors, and the scenery looked like the landscape of some cheesy romantic drama. The whole area screamed _tourist town._ I wondered, how many vacationing humans would find themselves unexpectedly caught up in my scheme? Hopefully a lot. After all, the more, the merrier.

I kneeled down to the ground, and placed down my palms. I began concentrating all the magic I could. This was going to take a lot of energy, but it would be worth it.

Steven and his little brat friend, by this point, had already managed to scarf down three donuts each. The girl was sensible, thinking that maybe that was enough for the day. But Steven was a little sugary cowboy. He wasn't going to let himself be cut off that easily.

"Steven..." she said, reaching her hand out to him, "I think we've had enough. I feel like stomach's about to explode."

Steven shook his head, "But Connie..." he said, his eyes lingering on a maple glazed donut, "It's calling to me. I can't allow it to go ignored. It would break it's heart."

"Donuts don't have hearts, Steven," The blond store clerk pitched in, "Maybe you should cool it for the day..."

"No!" he exclaimed. He took out a dollar from his pocket, and plopped it on the counter, "I must. It is my destiny."

Sadie shrugged, and took the money. Her weird-hair counterpart took the donut out from the counter, and a devilish grin crossed his face.

"Steven, heads up!" he shouted, and threw the donut towards him. But instead of attempting to catch it, Steven unintentionally did something else. His gem started to glow, and before anyone knew any better, he had encased the entire big donut in a large pink bubble.

This would seem to be a huge annoyance to the four of them. After all, Steven didn't quite have control over his powers. He certainly didn't know how to create bubbles, let alone break them. Until Steven could figure out his mojo, they were all trapped in the Big Donut.

But what they didn't realize, was Steven's little blunder only served to protect them from my schemes. It was a blessing in disguise. At least, to them. For me it was another wrench thrown in the machine, but I wasn't aware of it at the time.

To my discredit, if I hadn't been so caught up in my actions, perhaps I would have noticed. Maybe I would have sent my collection to dispose of the little brat. However, I was too involved in my work to pay attention to anything else. And how could I not be? After all, everything I had been striving for was about to come to fruition.

With my hands, I summoned a crystal cylinder to rise out of the ground. This would serve as an artifact to concentrate my power, make it as refined as possible. But on top of that, it would take this newly refined power, and magnify it. And it was working. It started to glow a hazy green color.

I took a deep breath. It was time to test this baby out.

I opened my eyes, and with a grin, I turned it on. The cylinder began to hum a beautiful hum, and in a flash of light, it shot out a large beam of green energy. The energy was molding itself into a large green cube. A cube of my magic.

I watched gleefully as this cube began to surround Beach City. And with that, my victory was claimed. The same magic that was controlling the crystal gems was now encasing Beach City. I now controlled every building, every creature, every citizen of beach city. I could manipulate whoever, or whatever I wanted. The area under the cube was my kingdom, and I was it's king.

No, not king. I was it's _god._ Beach City was mine.

Except, not all of it. Because little did I know, there was a small pink bubble protecting those inside it from my manipulations. The four inside were unaware of my magic, and unaware that they had just become Beach City's only hope for freedom.

They were unaware that a new battle had just started, and they would be fighting the front lines.

* * *

_Thank you cooper klebba, OMAC001, SpaceWonder368, and Wasmowin93 for reviewing. I have some bad news, guys. There's unfortunately not going to be any more updates of those story until next year!  
__At least I think I'm funny, but seriously, thank you for reading. It means an incredible amount. I hope everyone has a wonderful 2015!_


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